Fulling mill



May 8, 1945. F. B. MORRILL FULLING MILL Filed Aug. 13, 1945 '3 Sheets-Sheet l Elbe/75507 M W,

'1 5. 1 WK W.

May 8, 1.945 F. B. MORRILL ,3 3

' V FULLING MILL Filed Aug'. 13, 1943 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 v ED876607 WK dig Patented May 8, 1945 OFFICE.

1?; Claims.

This invention relates: general togiulli ng mills used inthe finishing of wool fabrics, and more specifically to the crimp boxes employed in conjunction with the squeeze rollsoof such millsto ,felt, condense, and compact the fabric. In particular, it relates to the meansused for variably weighting the hinged tongue of the crimp box topadjust the pressure of this tongue to the needs of, the particular .fabric being fulled and to the rateof felting action required,

lengthwisefulling, that is, theshortening and compacting of the fabric in the direction of ex tent of its warps, is governed by the degree of the pressure of thehinged tongue of thecrimp box downward upon thefolds'of fabric forced by the squeeze rolls into the passage bet-ween the sides and bottom of the crimp box andthe hinged top thereof, this top being weighted to. apply a constant but yielding degree of resistance to the travel ofthe cloth crammed into theicrimp box in pleated form by the pushing acticnof the squeeze rolls which feed the cloth continuously through the mill. .The earliest method of weight-,

ing the tongue was to apply weights of various mass and numbers to the free end of thetongue, pinning or otherwise attaching them ,i in fixed position. Subsequently, the conventional prior practice has been to employ a link and leversys term in which weights ofthe desired mass are hung on thelower ends of .rodsuhanging down at one or both sides of the fulling mill, outside of the housing, and nearthe rearof the mill, the rods exerting a constant downward pull on arms on a rockshaft extending across the topof the mill and the rockshaft being equipped with other arms connected by links it to the free ends of the tongue to press downward correspondingly on the tongues, auxiliary-springs being adjustably anchored on the weight-holding rods by collars and bearing against the, guides of these rods to oppose the downward pull of the weights so as to permit minor variations in the pressure exerted by the weights, and also to damp out vibrations of the weights causing uneven action.

This conventional weighting system has left considerable room for improvement, since it requires a separate rockshaft, link, lever and weight system for each of the two to four crimp boxes in a single mill, or, else when employing acomeven fulling. In addition tothe nuisance and incomplete flexibility of the system of changing the weights which must be employed, the operas tor has to leave his stationat the front of the y mill whence he observes and controls the fulling action and walk to .the rear of the mill to.mod-.

ify the weighting, which requires him to pass between and inclose proximity to the belts or other driving means of, the aligned series or bat- 10 In operating a fulling mill, the degree of tery of fulling mills, as usually installed, thus involving personal hazard of being caughtand injured by the drives which usually are inadequately guarded; or where a series of mills is set up in line in compact relation, the operator is required to detour around the end of theline to get at the weights, thus involvingloss of time. The same trip to the rear of the mill has to be made,and inaddition a strenuous physical ef fort is required, when the weights have to be lifted by hand in order to raise the tongues in threading up the mill or running out the cloth. It is the practice tclhold the weights and tongues thus lifted by shifting the collars which anchor the auxiliary springs on the weight rods down along the weight rods and then tightening up the collars to sustain the parts in this relation, which has resulted in repeated accidents in which the operators have been injured by the falling of the weight rods and quick descent of the levers attached thereto when the collars are loosened to put the tongues in action, through failure to realize theamount of weight hung on the rods. l a

With the object of overcoming these drawbacks, and in general making simpler, saferand more convenient theadjustment of the weighting of the tongues as well asthe acts of lifting and lowering the tongues, the invention consists essentially in providing a weight permanently in stalled directly onthe, tongue of each crimp box,

adjustable along the tongue toward and from the hinge of the latter so as to give a continuous range of variation from maximum to minimum of its effective leverage, bias, or torque in depressing the tongue, each weight preferably being individually shiftable along the tongue from mon rockshaft causes the tongue engaging that the operators station at the front of the fulling mill. Desiredly, also, the 'movement of the weight into its position of minimum leverage also lifts the tongue to provide for threading up the mill or running out the cloth,and1'n addition,the mechanism for shifting the weight also gives an accurateindication, byscale and pointer, of the relative degree of pressure being. exerted by the tongue so that such, pressure is. always of the mill. Shaft 45 is equipped with a handwheel 6| on its free end, by which it is manually vention, taken on line l-l of Fig. 2, and showing the action of the weighted tongue on the cloth packed into the crimp box.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section on line 2--2 of the fulling mill of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a portion of the parts of Fig. 1, illustrating. the relationship when the invention device is used to raise the tongue.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the rotated, and near its. other end with a collar 5| preventing endwise movement in its bearings. A portion of the length of shaft 45 is screw threaded, and on this threaded portion rests a half-nut 63, Figs. 1 and 6, of saddle shape having laterally extending wings which stand out sidewise beyond the depending edges of the flanges of an inverted channel iron member 65 which is attached by screws '61 to the tops of bearings 49, 55. A pointer 69 is applied to the relation of the parts when adjusted to exert nearly maximum pressure by the tongue.

Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the manually operable control means for the shiftable weight, together with the indicator which shows the relative degree of weighting being attained.

, Fig. 6 is a section on line 66 of Fig. 5.

The fulling mill may be of any conventional or preferred design, that illustrated herewithbeing of common form and comprising a'h01lsing l of wood with the usual outside metal framing 2, in which are rotatably mounted the opposed pairs of fulling rolls 3 fixed on driven shafts 5 supported in suitable bearings in the outside framework. The usual separator grid 1 paths and. pivotally mounted on the rockshaft ll of the stop motion so as to stop the transmission ofpower to rolls 3 when tangling occurs, is shown, as is also the guide roll l3 above the grid, around which the cloth changes its direction to enter the rolls.

The crimp boxes l5 are of the usual form, each comprising side walls I1 and a bottom l9 fitting closely up to a cooperating pair of the rolls 3, and mounted as upon a cross-girt 2| extending across the mill from one side wall 2 thereof to the other. U-shaped braces 23 fixed to the sides I! surround the two sides and the bottom of the box, and are united by a tie rod 25, above the sides, which forms the pintle for the hinge 2! of the tongue 29 forming the cover ,of the box. Here, as usual, the top, bottom, sides,

and tongue of the box are shown as made of wood, though they are occasionally made of metal. The tongue 29 swings up and down freely between the side walls H.

The improved weighting means is in the form illustrated herein made to roll lengthwise of the tongue, to facilitate the shifting of its position along the tongue to vary the torque exerted upon the tongue without need to change the mass of the weight. Thus, it comprises the cast-iron roll guiding the several lines of cloth 9 in parallel ends of arms 33 of a hanger or'fork of inverted U-shape, to the midportion or transverse part of which is attached by bolts 35 a nut 3'! threaded onto a screw 39 extending obliquelyupward and forward from the interior of the fullin mill and out through slots formed in the low wall at the front of cover 40, and connected by a universal Joint 43 to the rear end of a shaft 45 rotating in bearing 41 on a sleeve 49 fixed on a transverse supporting rod 5| fixed in brackets 53 on the outside frame of the mill, and in bearing 55 on a bracket 51 fixed on a cross-girt 59 machine.

end of one of the wings, cooperating with a scale ll applied to the side of the channel member 65.

, Thus, by turning hand-wheel (ii the shaft 45 passing through the crimp box. As the indicator 69 travels along its scale H in exact accord with the advance or retraction of roll 30, the relative position of the roll, and hence the relative degree of weighting of the tongue 29, is made known at all times to the operator while standing in his working position at. the front of the mill, and also is made capable of being instantly varied by him without leaving his position and of being infinitely adjusted from zero to maximum by the simplest kind of manual operation with negligible effort. A stop 13 onthe end of screw 39 prevents the roll-positionin nut 31 from escaping from its screw.

To lift the tongue, for purposes of threadin up the mill or running out the cloth, the roll 30 is arranged to roll on tracks comprising angle irons l5 fixed in spaced and parallel relation on longitudinal wooden cleats 11 applied to thetop surface of tongue 29, the roll rolling on the transversely extending webs and being guided between the vertical webs of these angle irons; and the ends of the angle irons are turned up atright angles ,overthe pintle 25 as indicated at-l9 and furnished with extensions 8| joined. by a crossbar 83 which is engaged by the edge of fork33 when roll 3|] is retracted fully toward the front of the mill. Continued manipulation of handwheel 6| following such engagement causes the fork to pull forwardly on cross-bar 83, thusswinging tongue 29 upwardly on pintle 25 substantially to the top of side walls IT, as shown in Fig. 3, leaving the passage through the-crimp box unobstructed by the tongue. The opposite ends of the angle iron guide rails 15 are also turned up and braced by a cross-bar 85, which also serves as a stop for the roll 30 in its movement toward the free end of the tongue.

In this manner the lifting of the tongue is also accomplished by the operator with a minimum of effort bythe same operation of the controls without leaving his position at the front of the Since the weighting roll 30 assumes a position first directly above the pintle 25 of the tongue and then slightly beyond such pintle, as the tongue is being raised, the tongue is .in

effect completely unweighted and in fact counter balanced or overbalanced by the weight durin the lifting of the tongue.

As is plain from the foregoing, it is within the contemplationof the invention to employ instead of the rolling weight a weight sliding or other: wise shiftable along the tongue, by remote control means such as a chain and sprockets or a j cable and Windlass performing the equivalent function of the screw 39.

While I have illustrated and described a cer tain form in which. the invention may be ,embodied, I am aware that many modifications may be made therein by anyfperson skilled in the art, without departing from the scope of the in vention as expressed inthe claims. Therefore,

I do not wish to be limited to the particular form shown, or to the details of construction thereof,

but

What I do claim is:

LWeighting means for the tongue ofa crimp box, in a fulling mill or the like, comprising the combination with a pivotally mounted tongue of a weight acting to depress the tongue, and remote-control means operable from a. position in front of the f ulling mill shifting the weight to ward and from the pivot of the tongue.

tending to depress the tongue into the box, and screw means operable from a position in front of the tuning mill shifting the weight toward and from the pivot of the tongue.

7. In a fulling mill, in combination, a crimp box, a tongue pivotally mounted in connection therewith, a roll resting on the tongue and tending to depress it into the box, screw means in connection with the roll shifting it along thetonguetoward and from the latters pivot, and

means located at the front of the mill for actuating such screw means.

8. In a fulling mill, in combination, a crimp box,, a tongue pivotally mounted in connection I therewith, a roll resting on thetongue and tend- I ,ing to depress it into the box, a nut in connec- 2. Weighting means for the tongue of a crimp box, in a fulling mill or the like, comprising the combination with a pivotally mounted tongue of a weight resting on the tongue and acting to depress the tongue, and remote-control means shifting the. weight toward and, from the pivot of the tongue. i I

3. Weighting means for the tongue of a crimp box, in a fulling mill or the like, comprising the combination with a pivotallymounted tongueof a weight shiftable along the top of the tongue toward and fromthe piVOt thereof, and manually-actuated means operable from a position in front of the fulling mill shifting the weight toward and from the pivot tovary the torque exerted by the weight on thetongue. I 4. The combination as set forth-in claim 3, in

which means is provided, readable from the said tion with such roll, a screw in engagement with one side of the pivot of the tongue, and shiftable U to the other side of the said pivot to exert a force tending to lift the tongue out of the box. i 10. In a fulling mill, in combination, a crimp box, a tongue pivotallymounted in connection therewith, a weight resting on the tongue and tending to depress the tongue into the box, re-

mote-control means shifting the weight along the tongue,1and means on the tongue engaged by the weight when thus shifted and acting to lift .the tongue. e

11. In a iulling mill, in combination, a crimp box, a tongue pivotally mounted in connection therewith, a memberrigidly attached to and position, indicating the relative position of the weight with respect to the pivot of the tongue.

5. In a fulling mill, in combination, a crimp box, a tongue pivotally mounted in connection therewith, a weight'resting on the tongueand tending to depress the tongue into the box, and. screw means shifting the weight toward and from the pivot of the tongue.

6.In a fulling min, in combination, a, crimp box, a tongue pivotally mounted in connection therewith, a. weight resting on the tongue and projecting from the tongue, and manually operable means movable lengthwise of the'tongue to strike the projecting member and thereby lift the tongue away fromthe bottom of the box.

12. Ina fulling mill, in combination, a crimp box, a tongue pivotally mounted in connection therewith, a manually operable member movable lengthwise of the tongue, and means projecting from the tongue engaged by said member in the course of its movement and. thus lii ting the tongue away fromthe bottom of the box.

FRANKB. MORRILL. 

